US wholesale LTE network provider LightSquared has struck a deal with mobile satellite firm Inmarsat that will give it access to L-band spectrum and provide both companies with an increased amount of contiguous spectrum. The deal builds on an initial agreement first forged in December 2007 between Inmarsat and SkyTerra, which was acquired in March by Harbinger Capital Partners, the firm behind LightSquared. Phase 1 of the new deal will see LightSquared pay Inmarsat US$337.5 million for the L-band spectrum, whilst Phase 2 – if implemented – would see Inmarsat make additional spectrum available at an annual cost to LightSquared of US$115 million per year.

LightSquared has said its wholesale LTE network will allow for terrestrial-only, satellite-only or integrated satellite-terrestrial services (via the terrestrial and MSS spectrum Harbinger scored through a merger in March with satellite operator SkyTerra). LightSquared is planning initial LTE trials in Baltimore, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix, with commercial launches planned by the third quarter of 2011. The company, which has access to 59 MHz of spectrum, has said the network will consist of around 40,000 cellular base stations and will cover over 90 percent of the US population by 2015. Last month it awarded Nokia Siemens Networks a US$7 billion contract to build the new network, and has also announced a deal with broadband wireless vendor Airspan Networks which will see its new partner resell spectrum for smart grid and utility applications targeted at the electric, gas and water utility sectors in the US.